Ronin / Masterless Samurai

The Ronin have no master - The most famous are the 47 ronin created after their Lord committed suicide. This term was not exactly a positive title for the Samurai of ancient Japan. However, in recent years, movies and video games have glorified the term Ronin.

In Chinese, this term has the original meaning of a hobo, vagabond or ruffian.
In Korean Hanja, these characters would be read as adventurer, wanderer, someone without a steady job, or someone who is wasting away time.

In modern Japan, this term is used as a nickname for a high school student who has failed a college entry exam (and is trying again).

In Chinese and Korean, the Japanese definition of "Masterless Samurai" is known because of the historical context, even in Japanese, the literal translation is closer to the Chinese and Korean definitions shown above.

This will make a fine wall scroll if you are a fan of the Ronin, or see yourself as a Ronin of sorts. However, please think twice before getting a Ronin tattoo!

Hua Mulan

huā mù lán

花木蘭 is the name of the famous Chinese woman warrior Hua Mulan.

She was made famous in the west by Disney's animated movie, "Mulan."

Most of the historical information about her comes from an ancient poem. It starts with a concerned Mulan, as she is told a man from each family is to serve conscription in the army. Her father is too old, and her brother is too young. Mulan decides to take the place of her father. After twelve years of war, the army returns and the best warriors are awarded great posts in the government and riches. Mulan turns down all offers, and asks only for a good horse for the long trip home. When Mulan greets visiting comrades wearing her old clothes, they are shocked to find the warrior they rode into battle with for years was actually a woman.

Guan Yu

guān yǔ

關羽 is the name Guan Yu, Army General for the Kingdom of Shu.

He is also known as Guan Gong (like saying Duke Guan or Sir Guan)

He was immortalized in the novel, "Romance of the Three Kingdoms."

He was a fearsome fighter, also famous for his virtue and loyalty. He is worshiped by some modern-day soldiers and has the title "Warrior Saint" in China. Some believe he offers safety and protection for military servicemen.

Guan Yu lived until 219 A.D.

Ultimate Loyalty to Your Country

The most famous tattoo in Chinese history

jìn zhōng bào guó

This proverb is the tattoo worn on the back of Yue Fei, a famous Chinese warrior who lived until 1142 A.D.

The tattoo can be translated as "Serve the country with the utmost loyalty." More literally, it means, "[The] Ultimate Loyalty [is too] Duty [of] Country."

Legend has it that this tattoo once saved his life when he was accused of treason.

The first two characters have come to create a word that means "serve the country faithfully" or "die for the country." Note: It's more a willingness to die for one's country than the actual act of dying.

The last two characters have come to mean, "Dedicate oneself to the service of one's country."

Both of these words are probably only in the Chinese lexicon because of this famous tattoo.

If you break it down, character-by-character, here is what you get:
1. To the utmost, to the limit of something, the ultimate.
2. Loyalty or duty (a sense of duty to one's master, lord, country, job).
3. Report, recompense, give back to (in this case, you are giving yourself to your country as payback).
4. Country, state, nation, kingdom.

The following table may be helpful for those studying Chinese or Japanese...

Title

Characters

Romaji(Romanized Japanese)

Various forms of Romanized Chinese

RoninMasterless Samurai

浪人

rou nin / rounin / ro nin / ronin

làng rén / lang4 ren2 / lang ren / langren

lang jen / langjen

Sun Tzu - Art of War

孫子兵法孙子兵法

son shi hyou housonshihyouhouson shi hyo hosonshihyoho

sūn zǐ bīng fǎsun1 zi3 bing1 fa3sun zi bing fasunzibingfa

sun tzu ping fasuntzupingfa

Hua Mulan

花木蘭花木兰

huā mù lánhua1 mu4 lan2hua mu lanhuamulan

Guan Yu

關羽关羽

guān yǔ / guan1 yu3 / guan yu / guanyu

kuan yü / kuanyü

Ultimate Loyalty to Your Country

盡忠報國尽忠报国

jìn zhōng bào guójin4 zhong1 bao4 guo2jin zhong bao guojinzhongbaoguo

chin chung pao kuochinchungpaokuo

In some entries above you will see that characters have different versions above and below a line.In these cases, the characters above the line are Traditional Chinese, while the ones below are Simplified Chinese.

Successful Chinese Character and Japanese Kanji calligraphy searches within the last few hours...

When the calligrapher finishes creating your artwork, it is taken to my art mounting workshop in Beijing where a wall scroll is made by hand from a combination of silk, rice paper, and wood.
After we create your wall scroll, it takes at least two weeks for air mail delivery from Beijing to you.

Allow a few weeks for delivery. Rush service speeds it up by a week or two for $10!

When you select your calligraphy, you'll be taken to another page where you can choose various custom options.

The wall scroll that Sandy is holding in this picture is a "large size"single-character wall scroll.We also offer custom wall scrolls in small, medium, and an even-larger jumbo size.

Professional calligraphers are getting to be hard to find these days.Instead of drawing characters by hand, the new generation in China merely type roman letters into their computer keyboards and pick the character that they want from a list that pops up.

There is some fear that true Chinese calligraphy may become a lost art in the coming years. Many art institutes in China are now promoting calligraphy programs in hopes of keeping this unique form
of art alive.

Even with the teachings of a top-ranked calligrapher in China, my calligraphy will never be good enough to sell. I will leave that to the experts.

The same calligrapher who gave me those lessons also
attracted a crowd of thousands and a TV crew as he created characters over
6-feet high. He happens to be ranked as one of the top 100 calligraphers
in all of China. He is also one of very few that would actually attempt
such a feat.

Some people may refer to this entry as Famous Warrior Kanji, Famous Warrior Characters, Famous Warrior in Mandarin Chinese, Famous Warrior Characters, Famous Warrior in Chinese Writing, Famous Warrior in Japanese Writing, Famous Warrior in Asian Writing, Famous Warrior Ideograms, Chinese Famous Warrior symbols, Famous Warrior Hieroglyphics, Famous Warrior Glyphs, Famous Warrior in Chinese Letters, Famous Warrior Hanzi, Famous Warrior in Japanese Kanji, Famous Warrior Pictograms, Famous Warrior in the Chinese Written-Language, or Famous Warrior in the Japanese Written-Language.

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